Loveland voters strike down fracking moratorium

Fracking pumps line up by two well heads at a fracking station near Dacono, seen during a oilfield tour hosted by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development on May 19.
(Photo: V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan)

Loveland voters on Tuesday struck down a proposed moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial oil and gas extraction process that has been restricted in several cities along Colorado’s Front Range.

More than 20,000 ballots were cast, but ultimately the moratorium failed by about 900 votes, said city spokesman Tom Hacker. Results came in just after 10 p.m., making the Loveland election one of the last Colorado races to be decided Tuesday.

“Fortunately that means the Loveland citizens have spoken and that common sense prevailed,” said BJ Nikkel, director of the Loveland Energy Action Project, a group that campaigned against the moratorium.

Loveland is the sixth city to put a halt on fracking to a vote, but the only city thus far to vote against fracking restrictions. In November, four Colorado cities including Fort Collins joined Longmont in restricting the process, which injects chemicals deep into shale formations to extract oil and natural gas.

“It means that people in Loveland have rejected the hype and misinformation campaign,” Nikkel said of Loveland’s unique, but close, vote.

Sharon Carlisle, with Protect Our Loveland, the group that petitioned for the ballot measure, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday night.

Thousands of Loveland residents voted against Question 1, the only item on the city’s special election ballot, which proposed a two-year moratorium on fracking and a study of the process’ potential health impacts. It’s been years since any new wells were fracked in Loveland and there appear to be no new wells in the works, Hacker said.

In November, Fort Collins passed a five-year moratorium on fracking, pending a similar health study. Shortly after the election, however, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association filed a lawsuit against the city, which remains pending in court. Seven months later, the city remains undecided when it comes to its study and has unspecific hopes to rely on a collaboration with Colorado State University.

Longmont passed a fracking ban in 2012; and in 2013 Lafayette, Boulder and Broomfield passed restrictions on the process.

Loveland’s June election was unusual, as after the fracking proposal failed to make it on the November ballot, a petition revived the ballot measure. A series of legal complications put Loveland’s fracking election on June 24, the same day as the Larimer County primary election.

City Clerk Terry Andrews had to conduct the Loveland election without the usual help from the county — which declined to sponsor, citing a conflict of interest — and the city will likely pay more than $60,000 to run the single-question election on its own.

Loveland residents were casting votes and even registering until the eleventh hour on Tuesday. At one point would-be voters were sprawled on the office floor, registering to vote. By 5 p.m., about 20,000 ballots had been returned, putting the city around 50 percent turnout, Hacker said. More than 44,000 ballots were sent to voters around the city.

Loveland’s vote comes before a summer of campaigning, as a slew of oil and gas-related proposals jockey for a chance to be on the November election ballot.

“I think all eyes will be on Colorado and the energy debate here, certainly with the upcoming ballot issues,” said Nikkel.